(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to drum pedals and, more particularly, to a tension adjuster and variable pivot point spring rotor for adjusting the return action of a beater.
(2) Description of Related Art
Foot pedals have long been used for striking bass drums, since the use of a foot pedal frees both of the drummer's hands for use with snare drums, cymbals or other devices. However, most prior art bass drum pedals have been constructed with a fixed drive action. This means that the drummer must vary the force with which the beater impacts the drum head by varying the force applied by the drummer's foot. Unfortunately, some drummers have a “heavier foot” than others and, hence, must constantly guard against causing the beater to strike the drum head too vigorously, while other drummers have a very “light foot” and, consequently, must exert conscious effort to effect a desired beater impact. Some attempts have been made to provide adjustable drive action. However, the adjustable drive action foot pedals of the prior art have been complex, expensive to produce and difficult to adjust and maintain.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,592 (hereinafter referred to as the '592 patent) was devised to address several of the deficiencies listed above. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the '592 patent shows a bass drum foot pedal 10, having a flat elongated base 12 with a foot pedal 14 having one end 16 pivotally secured to a block 18 located adjacent one end 20 of the base 12. The opposite end 22 of the foot pedal 14 is pivotally secured to the lower end 24 of a link member 26 whose upper end 28 is pivotally secured to the lower end of a slide member 30. The slide member 30 is movable along a rod 32 carried by a rocker member 34 and may be secured in a desired position along the rod 32 by suitable means, such as thumbscrew 36. The rocker member 34 is pivotally mounted adjacent the upper end 38 of a column 40 which is fixedly mounted adjacent the forward end 42 of the base 12 and extends vertically upward therefrom. The rocker member 34 is formed with a hole 44 extending therethrough adjacent the outer end 46 of the rocker member 34 to releasably receive the shaft 48 of a suitable beater 50. Clamp means 52 are mounted on the rocker member 34 adjacent the hole 44 to releasably retain the shaft 48 of the beater 50. The rocker member 34 is pivotally mounted on the column 40 by a pivot arm 54 which extends through the upper end 38 of the column 40 and carries a link member 56 on its opposite end 58 and a second link member 60 is pivotally connected between the lower end 62 of link member 56 and the upper end 64 of a spring 66. A flange 68 projects laterally from the column 40 and has an opening 70 extending therethrough to receive the shank 72 of a hook 74 which retains the lower end 76 of the spring 66. A thumbnut 78 serves to permit adjustment of the tension applied by hook 74 to the spring 66 and to retain the hook 74 in a desired position of adjustment. Link member 56 is secured in a desired position of adjustment about the pivot arm 54 by means of a set screw 80 or the like. Finally, a block 81 is mounted on the base 12 adjacent the forward end 42 thereof and an arm 83 is pivotally mounted thereon with a screw 85 threadedly carried adjacent the rear end 87 of arm 83 and clamping means 89 is provided adjacent the opposite end of arm 83 to clamp the bass drum pedal 10 to the rim of a bass drum, not shown.
The '592 patent was a significant improvement over the prior art in that the slide member 30 is adjustable by moving along the rod 32 to vary the impact force and strike point of the beater 50.
While the '592 patent describes a very desirable product that provides for a wide range of adjustability of optimizing performance, there are circumstances where added adjustability may be desired to vary the performance of the drum pedal.
Thus, a continuing need exists for additional adjustable components for bass drum pedals.